1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic cash register system widely used in fast food restaurants, drive-through restaurants or the like to display a menu ordered by a customer on a display screen of a display unit installed in the kitchen and to ensure accurate accounting for the order by the customer.
2. Description of the Related Art
An accounting system employed hitherto in many fast food restaurants, drive-through restaurants and the like operates such that, as soon as a menu ordered by a customer is prepared or cooked and then delivered to the customer, the customer pays money corresponding to the ordered menu. In a prior art electronic cash register system used in such an accounting system, a master electronic cash register and a plurality of slave electronic cash registers are located at a service counter, while a display unit and a control key are located in the kitchen. According to this prior art electronic cash register system, each of the slave electronic cash registers registers an order received from a customer and issues an order slip, while the master electronic cash register collects that information. The names of the menu items to be cooked are displayed on the display screen of the display unit according to the information transmitted from the master electronic cash register, and the cooks cook the menu items on the basis of the displayed names. When the article or the menu items cooked and prepared according to the orders from the customers are delivered to the service counter, the customers receive the ordered menu items in exchange for the order slips and pay money for the menu items totalled by the individual registers.
One form of the prior art electronic cash register system will now be described by reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Referring to FIG. 1, each of slave registers 10 is located at, for example, a service counter to register a menu order from a customer and to issue a bill for the order. A master register 11, which also registers a menu order and issues a bill for the order, functions to store order numbers, ordered menu items, etc. This master register 11 issues the order number each time any one of the slave registers 10 receives a menu order. Each of the registers 10 and 11 issues a printed slip 12 on which the order number, the ordered menu items, the total price, etc. are printed.
A display unit 13 as a means for displaying the order numbers and ordered menu items on its display screen is located in the kitchen. A display control unit 14, as a means for controlling the display unit 13, stores the order numbers, ordered menu items, etc. transmitted from the registers 10 and 11 and displays the ordered menu items on the display screen of the display unit 13 in the order of the order numbers. A control key 16, as an actuator means for controlling the display on the display unit 13, is connected to the display control unit 14. Referring to FIG. 2, the control key 16 includes a left shift key 17 for shifting the cursor leftward on the display screen of the display unit 13, a right shift key 18 for shifting the cursor rightward on the display screen of the display unit 13, and a serve key 19 for erasing, in response to depression of the key 19, the ordered menu items of the order number where the cursor is now located. The slave registers 10, the master register 11 and the display control unit 14 are interconnected by a communication line 20.
The operation of the prior art electronic cash register system will now be described. A customer orders, for example, a meal made up of one or more menu items to the operator of the slave or master register 10 or 11. In response to the order from the customer, the register operator manipulates keys shown in FIG. 3. When the operator manipulates an order number key 21 on the slave or master register 10 or 11, the master register 11 is inquired for that order number. In response to the inquiry of the order number from the slave register 10, the master register 11 issues an order number for the sake of distinction from other orders.
After the operator receives the complete order from the customer, he depresses a serve key 22. In response to the depression of the serve key 22, acceptance of the order is ended, and the slave or master register 10 or 11 prints out an order slip 30 as shown in FIG. 4. The operator hands over this order slip 30 to the customer. The slave register 10 transmits the customer's order number and the ordered menu items to both the master register 11 and the display control unit 14 through the communication line 20. The master register 11 stores the transmitted order number and ordered menu items, and, when issue of another order number is then requested, the next order number is transmitted as the new order number.
The manner of accounting will now be described by reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. After the operator inputs the order number to the slave register 10 by manipulating the order number key 21, the slave register 10 acquires the ordered menu items stored in the master register 11 to account for the ordered menu items. Then, when the operator depresses an account key on the slave register 10, the slave register 10 erases the data of the ordered menu items stored in the memory of the master register 11 and prints out a slip 40 as shown in FIG. 6.
The display control unit 14 stores the ordered menu items received from the slave registers 10 and displays the ordered menu items on the display screen of the display unit 13 as shown in FIG. 7. The cook in the kitchen cooks the menus according to the ordered menu items displayed on the display screen of the display unit 13. As soon as the ordered menu items are prepared, the operator calls the customer by the order number to deliver the ordered menu at the service counter or directly carries the ordered menu to the table of the corresponding customer.
After a menu ordered according to an order number is cooked, the cook in the kitchen manipulates the control key 16 shown in FIG. 2 to erase the display of the order number on the display screen of the display unit 13. Therefore, the display on the display screen of the display unit 13 is controlled independently of the operation of the master register 11 or slave registers 10.
Thus, when the operator inputs an order number to any one of the slave registers 10 in the prior art electronic cash register system, and this order number is read out from the memory of the master register 11, the required accounting can be made at the slave register 10. Also, when the cook manipulates the control key 16 in the kitchen, the display of the order for the menu cooked already can be erased from the display screen of the display unit 13.
However, in the case of the prior art electronic cash register system, the operator of each of the registers was required to input the menu items ordered by a customer and hand over a slip having the printed order number to the customer, and, for the purpose of later accounting, the order number printed on the slip had to be newly inputted to the register.
Also, the cook in the kitchen had to make key manipulation in order to erase the display of the menu from the display screen of the display unit as he finished cooking. This requirement for key manipulation was troublesome and time consuming in the contact of meet in the demand for shortened service time in a restaurant, such as, a fast food restaurant. Further, because each of the registers had to issue a slip having a printed order number so as to inform the customer of the order number, such a problem arose that this slip is wasted in such a restaurant as would deliver the ordered menu to the customer consecutively after reception of order of the menu.